How To Write Effective Text Ads that Convert

Crafting a great ad is the most fundamental building block to running a successful campaign in online marketing. As a digital marketer, that is why it is so important to learn how to write effective text ads that convert.

Though knowing how to structure and manage a campaign is always essential, of course, the ads themselves are the bread and butter, the meat and potatoes, the heart and soul of your advertising strategy. Effective ad copy uses creative to deliver the right message at just the right time. Here are a few tips for making sure your ads shine and present your product or service in the best way possible.

1. Write Purposeful Copy, Avoid Generic Language, and Make Character Limits Work for You.

When writing a text ad for Google AdWords, for instance, you don’t have a ton of room to make an impression. To be exact, you have two 30-character headlines, one 80-character description, and two 15-character URL path fields, that’s barely more than a tweet! Bearing these limitations in mind, you’ll need to make every word in your ad count.

First and foremost, the goal of your ad copy is to showcase value to potential customers. Try and put yourself into the shoes of a potential customer. What are they looking for? What are their needs and wants? Do your utmost to address these and other concerns with direct, compelling ad copy.

Just like a newspaper or outlet, your headline is your first chance to grab the attention of your audience. Because of this, create an enticing headline. Remember all of those concerns you were just thinking of while in the heads of your potential customers? Take the most important one and address it in your headline. Another thing to keep in mind: the longer your headline is, the more clickable space your ad has. This may seem trivial, but in a world where one misclick can provoke frustration on the part of a potential customer, it’s worth considering.

Take advantage of your description field in unique and interesting ways. Ideally, you don’t want your description to read like just another headline. If someone is reading your description, chances are that your headlines have done their job and drawn some form of interest from the user. Leave your description then to illuminate other things about your business. Set your ads up for success by introducing what makes your business stand apart from the rest.

Though it’s important to direct a potential customer with a call to action, traditional sales language like “call today!” can be offputting and create a false sense of urgency. Instead, try and think of ways to describe ways in which potential customers can benefit from visiting your site. For instance, if your business sells insurance and you are rightly proud of your affordable rates, perhaps you can let the user know this with a call to action like “Start Saving!” This will encourage users to visit your site without them feeling like they’re being strong armed into it.

In the same vein, think of your website as the answer to whatever question the user is asking. As such, try to avoid asking a question in one of your headlines. Potential customers should feel that by clicking on your ad, you’re helping them solve a problem, rather than giving them more to think about.

Consider also where users will see your ad. If you find that a particular headline works especially well as a call to action for mobile users, you can set that headline to specifically appear when your ads show on mobile. By closely monitoring your ad’s placements and locations, you can really get a leg up on your competition.

2. Set Your Ads Up for Success with Ad Extensions, Keyword Insertion, and Ad Customizers

Ad Extensions are a great, simple way to make your ads more interactive, informative and attractive to potential customers. By utilizing such extensions as callouts, sitelinks, and a call button, you can give users more ways to interact with your ad, increasing the likelihood of them finding a meaningful way of doing so. Try to enable any extensions that make sense for your business on your ads. For example, if you want customers to call your business, having a call extension is quite helpful.

If you’re managing a group of ads with one similar theme, another great tool to consider using is keyword insertion. If enabled, this AdWords feature dynamically updates your text ads to include one of your keywords when it matches a user’s search, which can make an ad even more appealing to a user.

Other awesome, eye catching tools are made available in the form of Ad Customizers. You can use these bad boys to tailor your ads directly to a user’s search! Some examples of these include creating a sense of urgency with a countdown timer or showing the proximity of your business by showing it’s location.

3. Test and Optimize Your Ad Creative

The best piece of  advice one can give when it comes to creating effective text ads is to ABT – Always Be Testing.

Don’t like how a headline is performing for a particular ad? Try a new one! Think an extension is underperforming? Same deal. By always trying new and interesting things to see what works and what doesn’t, you’ll improve your performance and maximize your opportunities for growth and success. This is especially true with headlines and ad copy itself. Find out what works best for your business and run with it!

How to Create Draft Campaigns and Experiments in AdWords

Learn how to create a draft campaign in your AdWords account and an experiment from a draft campaign –  https://support.google.com/adwords/

Finally, remember to keep an eye on your ad rotation settings. By optimizing your ads for clicks or conversions, you’ll stay closer to your campaign’s goals and improve both your competitive edge and your bottom line.

By following these tips and tricks, you should be creating some high quality text ads in no time!

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